Sumiko Sumimura
Sumiko Sumimura (墨村守美子'', Sumimura Sumiko'') is the wife of Shuji, daughter of Shigemori Sumimura, and the mother of Masamori, Yoshimori, and Toshimori. She is also an extremely powerful kekkaishi, but not a Legitimate Successor. Appearance Sumiko is usually seen wearing the Sumimura Kekkaishi attire with her own shakujo. She has brown hair that's tied up in the back with two long strands hanging in the front, one long strand in the back. Personality Sumiko has a logical, confusing, somewhat cold nature. She is often called a bad (or at least non-present) mother by others, a claim that always infuriates Masamori and Yoshimori. Sumiko tends to make most people uncomfortable, often on purpose: Yoshimori recalls that she likes to do outrageous things that others can't understand, himself included. Yoshimori later discovers that both his mother's absence in his life, and her questionable plan to relocate the power of Karasumori, are entirely the fault of Tokimori Hazama: Sumiko has been searching over 10 years for a suitable place to re-seal Chushinmaru for good, at the Founder's request, in order to protect her family.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 316 Sumiko is resigned to the fact that she has more talent as a kekkaishi than a mother (Yoshimori notes that she is generally bad with chores such as cooking and sewing), and does not think a person such as her with "monstrous" power is meant to live a normal life. History Though Sumiko was an active kekkaishi at the same time as Tokio Yukimura, it is implied more than once that they did not work together: Yomi Kasuga mentions having known Tokio well (they both worked for the Shadow Organization), but admits the same did not to apply to Sumiko.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 9, page 9 Tokine suggests that Sumiko was able to refuse jobs from the Shadow Organization because she was an exceptional kekkaishi: beyond that, while members occasionally stayed overnight at the Yukimura Home, this was never the case for the Sumimuras.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 8, page 9 Shigemori reveals that before Toshimori was born, Sumiko performed a single job for the Shadow Organization, in which she killed the deer god of a shinyuuchi, cutting the child out of the mother's body so it could become the area's new god. After this incident, Sumiko began to roam the land freely.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 184, pages 9-12 This was because she had secretly discovered Tokimori Hazama living within the Shinkai beneath Karasumori Academy, and at his request, began inspecting various shinyuuchi for a possible sealing site for Chushinmaru Karasumori, a quest which kept her occupied for much of the following 10 years.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 316, pages 11-13 As a result, Sumiko was absent for much of Yoshimori's life, leaving he and Toshimori to be raised almost entirely by Shuji and Shigemori. She was at least briefly present at home after Yoshimori had started his kekkaishi training and Masamori was still in school.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 343 Sumiko occasionally sent letters to her family through shikigami birds, which Toshimori especially looked forward to, and even when she returned home, she never stayed for long. Sumiko's first notable appearance in the series is in a flashback, taking Tokio Yukimura to his home moments before his death.Kekkaishi anime, Episode 3 According to her, she had narrowly saved him from a multi-eyed ayakashi capable of hypnotizing people and showing them their worst nightmares. Tokio was weakened by visions of something terrible happening to Tokine, and the ayakashi seriously wounded him before Sumiko destroyed it. As she and Tokio were the only witnesses, there is some suspicion surrounding the event, but Tokine accepts this story after years of wondering.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 288 Plot 'A Dragon's Detour' Sumiko briefly returns home, driving a dragon god there against its willKekkaishi manga, Chapter 151 and releasing some of Karasumori's built-up energy in the process.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 152 She then removes the dragon, but purposely avoids meeting with anyone, even though she was well aware that Yoshimori was desperate to see her.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 153 'Moving the Lord' The next time Sumiko comes homeKekkaishi manga, Chapter 284, she intends to remove the soul of the lord of Karasumori, with Yoshimori's help. Though Shigemori and Shuji both disagree with this plan, Yoshimori knows this will bring him a step closer to sealing Karasumori and agrees to help.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 285 After picking up Tokine, Sumiko raises a hidden castle out of Karasumori Academy's schoolyard, and leads the group inside. Yoshimori locates Karasumori (a pale young boy named Chushinmaru), and Sumiko helps him transfer the lord into an orb before they leave the castle. Once they are outside, both the castle and the school collapse. Sumiko then explains her intention to take Yoshimori, the lord, and Madarao to a new site where they can practice sealing the lord. As they depart, Yoshimori discovers that his mother is actually a shikigami, containing a seventh of Sumiko's power and memories, which makes him realize that the difference in their power is far greater than he originally thought.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 291 'Training with Shikigami Mom' 'The Secret of Shinkai' Powers & Abilities Hazama-Ryu Kekkai technique: Sumiko is one of, if not the most powerful kekkaishi currently active. She has proven herself capable of numerous feats thought to be impossible, such as killing one god and subduing another. Like Tokiko Yukimura, Sumiko can also create perfect shikigami clones. The one that accompanied Yoshimori is quite durable, as it had a seventh of Sumiko's power and memories, and Yoshimori admitted that he never would have known she wasn't authentic without using Musou. *'Sensory Kekkai': Sumiko is also capable of using sensory kekkai to detect objects within a limited area, though unlike Masamori, she does this without the use of a landlord, and the impact upon others is not quite as stifling.Kekkaishi manga, Chapter 286 Trivia *She made a few appearances in the anime, but her entire face was never shown. *Sumiko once said that, on occasion, Tokio Yukimura used to call her 'Bakemono '(化物, Monster) References Category:Characters Category:Sumimura Family Category:Kekkaishi